By
Drew Wyman

Advocates of the Alzheimer's
Association, Maine Chapter, Thom and Jackie Frisk of Bangor; Mike Hartt and
Mary Dysart Hartt of Hampden; John Pulver of Harrison; Deb Johnson of
Waterford; Cathy Walters of Hollis Center; Jacquie Guerin of Sanford; and
Josh Sawyer of Springvale are joining
Gareth Howell, Ph.D.
of
The Jackson Laboratory
and more than 1,000 fellow advocates from across the country on Capitol
Hill to advance legislative policies that will improve the lives of over 5
million Americans living with Alzheimer’s. Today, there are more than
28,000 people in Maine living with Alzheimer’s and 69,000 Mainers providing
unpaid care.

Convening June 17-19 in Washington, D.C. for the Alzheimer's Association
AIM Advocacy Forum, the nation's premier Alzheimer's disease advocacy
event, the Frisks will meet with members of the Maine delegation including
Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) and Senator Angus S. King (I-ME).

The advocacy event will include testimony to the United States Senate
Special Committee on Aging, where Howell will join Academy Award-Winning
Actress Marcia Gay Harden; Lisa C. McGuire, Ph.D., of the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, and others to address “Changing the
Trajectory of Alzheimer’s: Reducing Risk, Detecting Early Symptoms, and
Improving Data” on Tuesday, June 19 at 2:30 p.m. The
testimony will be broadcast live and can also be viewed as an archive here.

"It is an honor to be asked to represent The Jackson Laboratory and the
wider scientific community at the Senate Special Committee on Aging," said
Howell. "I feel very optimistic about the promising Alzheimer's disease
research happening at JAX and around the world. From the impact of diet and
lifestyle to resiliency to more representative disease models, today's
novel strategies and state-of-the-art approaches are bringing us closer
than ever to finding tomorrow's cures."

Advocates will urge their members of Congress to pass two bipartisan bills
that are critical to the fight against Alzheimer’s: The Building Our
Largest Dementia (BOLD) Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act (S. 2076/H.R.
4256) and the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act
(PCHETA) (S. 693/ H.R.R 1676).

“Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death in this country, it has no
effective treatment or cure. My wife Jackie and I are visiting Washington
DC to advocate for research money now to prevent it from bankrupting our
healthcare system in the near future. It may be too late for Jackie,
hopefully it will have some effective treatment for our children’s
generation,” said Thom Frisk.

If passed, the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act would apply a public
health approach to Alzheimer's disease by establishing a modern
infrastructure for the prevention, treatment, and care of Alzheimer’s and
other dementias. PCHETA, would ensure America has an adequate, well-trained
palliative care and hospice workforce through worker training, education
and awareness, and enhanced research.

Advocates will also urge their members of Congress to support a $425
million increase for research funding at the National Institutes of Health
(NIH) on Alzheimer’s disease for fiscal year 2019—an increase that is
necessary to address the mounting public health crisis and cost of
Alzheimer’s, the most expensive disease in America.

Alzheimer’s is the only leading cause of death in America without a way to
prevent, cure, or even slow its progression. Consequently, in 2018 alone,
Alzheimer’s and other dementias are expected to cost the United States $277
billion, with $186 billion being borne by Medicare and Medicaid, meaning 1
in every 5 Medicare dollars will be spent on a person living with
Alzheimer’s.

“Our advocates know first-hand that an early diagnosis offers many
benefits, including access to more effective medical and lifestyle
interventions and the ability to take an active role in planning with
family members for the future,” said Adam Lacher, Director of Advocacy at
the Alzheimer’s Association, Maine Chapter.

Together with these advocates from Maine and across the country, the
Alzheimer’s Association is also commemorating the annual Alzheimer’s &
Brain Awareness Month by highlighting resources that can help individuals
in the wake of a diagnosis, including offering
10 Steps to Take Following an Alzheimer’s Diagnosis, as well as
10 Warning Signs
to help people understand early symptoms of Alzheimer’s or behaviors that
merit discussion.

To learn more about the Alzheimer’s Association AIM Advocacy Forum, please
visit alz.org/forum.

To learn about Thom and Jackie Frisk’s story with younger-onset
Alzheimer’s, visit www.jax.org.

About Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month

June is Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month, a time dedicated to
increasing public awareness of Alzheimer’s disease, available resources and
how you can get involved to support the cause. Visit alz.org to learn more about
Alzheimer’s, its warning signs, the importance of early detection and
diagnosis as well as information on care and support.

About the Alzheimer’s Association

The Alzheimer’s Association is the leading voluntary health organization in
Alzheimer's care, support and research. Our mission is to eliminate
Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research; to provide and
enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of
dementia through the promotion of brain health. Our vision is a world
without Alzheimer’s ®. Visit alz.org or call 800.272.3900.

About The Jackson Laboratory

The Jackson Laboratory is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research
institution based in Bar Harbor, Maine, with a National Cancer
Institute-designated Cancer Center, a facility in Sacramento, Calif., and a
genomic medicine institute in Farmington, Conn. It employs 2,100 staff, and
its mission is to discover precise genomic solutions for disease and
empower the global biomedical community in the shared quest to improve
human health. For more information, please visit
www.jax.org.